Zaricof
by Lil' Buckeroo
Summary: A Dark Lord 'sent' a prince to an adventurous journey to find the Great Stone of Zaricof. The epic journey leading the prince to various places while he made new friends, fend off enemies, find true love, etc
1. The war began

**Timeline**: I am throwing them into the world similar to Lord of the Rings. Heheh... sort of... What? Never heard of that movie/ book? Well, imagine the world of knights, wizards, elves, and whatever magical creature I can think of. Mwahahaha...

**Characters**: All PoT characters of my choice.

**Background**: There were three parts of lands in this world, separated by border such as rivers, or mountains or whatever. One of them known as the Mainland where Shitenhouji Kingdom, Seigaku Kingdom, Hyotei Kingdom and St. Rudolf Kingdom were located. This land was populated mostly by Man and Elves. The second "land" was the Snow land which was populated by the Wizards and the Fairies. The third continent was the Fire land which is ruled by the Dark Lord and all sorts of evil magical beings such as orcs who were under the command of the lord live there.

**Plot**: A Dark Lord 'sent' a prince to an adventurous journey to find the Great Stone of Zaricof. The epic journey leading the prince to various places while he made new friends, fend off enemies, find true love, and laugh at stupid jokes along the way. Okay, maybe not laugh... -wink-

**Genre**: Adventures, Humor, Romance

**Pairings**: no male to male pairings... I think...

The war began!

"Your daughter is here, my Lord," Sanada bowed before the emperor of Rikkai, after he entered his lord"s private chamber.

"Bring her in," the emperor told his loyal knight.

Sanada did what he was just instructed and brought a young girl in. He also made sure that nobody was near that part of the castle.

"Father," the girl looked paled and nervous, probably overwhelmed by the aura emitted by the man before her, who also happened to be the greatest dark sorcerer ever. She even afraid to look at him, keeping her eyes to the ground instead.

"Tell me about this prophecy that you saw," he told her softly, although one should never interpret that wrongly. Behind the smile, this man would kill mercilessly the second that person was of no use to him anymore.

"The only person who can find the stone is a prince who live in the Kingdom of Shitenhouji," the girl said.

'There are two princes of Shitenhouji. Which one is it?'

'The vision wasn't clear, father. My vision didn't really showed his face.'

The Dark Lord stood silence, deep in thought, thinking of the prophecy that he just heard. The stone. The Great Stone of Zaricof to be exact. He had sought that magical wishing gem, which could grant him one wish, for such a long time; his desired for immortality so that he could conquer the world and rule forever.

"However, the prince would also destined to..." she hesitated for a while, afraid that she would be punish if she said it.

"Continue."

"The prince would also destined to... d-defeat y-you." The girl closed her eyes, waiting for the pain. Surely this would anger the Dark Lord.

Instead the Dark Lord gave out a blood curdling laugh which filled the whole castle. "Kabaji!" the Dark Lord summoned.

In an instant, Kabaji magically appeared before them, bowing, waiting for his father"s instruction.

"Send her to the Mainland," the Dark Lord said before turning to the girl. "I will give you a limited amount of power so use it wisely and make sure that the Shitenhouji"s princes go out of his castle to find the stone."

"Yes, father," said both of his children. With that, both of them disappeared into thin air.

**SANADA GENICHIROU KABAJI SANADA GENICHIROU KABAJI SANADA GENICHIROU KABAJI** **SANADA GENICHIROU KABAJI SANADA GENICHIROU KABAJI SANADA  
**

"And why should I trust you?" Asked the King of Hyotei to an old witch before him. "I could easily throw you into the dungeon for your insolence of entering my castle?"

"You don't have to trust me," the witch replied, not fazed by the king's threat. Not even to the officials standing around her in the Hyotei palace. "I am here to offer you an easy way to conquer Shitenhouji. It is up to you whether you accept it or not."

"Without anything for you in return?" Atobe found it hard to believe that.

"Not for you to know but I can assure you that I have no ill intent towards your kingdom."

King Atobe thought of the suggestion, unsure what to say.

"I apologized for my imprudence but I would have to ask you for your answer now," she said, "However, need I remind you how long had you been waiting for such chance to defeat the Shitenhouji. Surely, you don't want to miss it."

"Know your place, you commoners!" Atobe told her angrily. _How dare such pathetic commoner talk to him like that?!_

"My king, I do find the logic in her words," Renji chimed in.

If Renji wasn't his wisest strategist general that he had, he would have chopped his head off for not asking his permission to speak. "Explain yourself."

"Shitenhouji's strength lies on the defensive devices that kept their enemies away from their fortress wall without sacrificing their actual army. If we could somehow render the contraptions useless, we could easily infiltrate the fortress and conquer it."

After a while of thinking, Atobe finally agreed with his general. After all, Renji was his most trusted man and as long as he remembered, Renji never made mistakes regarding his war tactics. "And how would you do that, witch?"

"I am a witch, Sire," she said, "I have my own way. That is all you need to know."

"I see," Atobe said before standing up and turning to his knights. "Renji and Momoshiro, go and prepare our army. Lead them to a war against Shitenhouji!"

**ATOBE KEIGO YANAGI RENJI MOMOSHIRO TAKESHI ATOBE KEIGO YANAGI RENJI MOMOSHIRO TAKESHI ATOBE KEIGO YANAGI RENJI MOMOSHIRO TAKESHI ATOBE  
**

CLANK. CLANK.

CLANK.

CLANK. CLANK. CLANK.

In a training arena, outside Shitenhouji's palace, Ryoma continuously attacking his brother using his sword but easily fended off by Osamu. "Come on, Ryoma. Is that all you've got?"

"How am I suppose to learn how to fight if you keep defending," Ryoma told him in frustration, between his pants. "Why aren't you attacking me in return?"

"How could I hurt my beloved brother?"Osamu joked, although he meant it inside. In fact, everyone knew that he had a soft spot on Ryoma and always pampering the boy.

"Stop playing around and attack me!" Ryoma shouted, charging towards the other prince. Yes, Osamu and Ryoma were the princes of Shitenhouji. As an older brother, Osamu was the crown prince and, despite of his playful nature which sometimes irritated Ryoma, he was a capable prince who helped the old king to manage the kingdom. For that reason, Ryoma harbored a deep respect towards his brother.

CLANK.

"Now, now. You should know that patience is the basic thing you should have in swordsmanship," he said as he easily disarmed Ryoma.

"Prince Osamu, the king wants to see you," said a man making both prince turned to him.

"Mitsu-chan," Osamu smiled to his bestfriend who was also his most trusted subject. "How many times do I have to tell you to call me by my name?"

"And how many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me that?" retorted the young knight.

Ryoma watched both men in silence. He knew how close his brother was to the knight before him. Tezuka Kunimitsu was a man he respected the most other than his brother. Not only that he was the youngest knight promoted to a commander, he also was known for his bravery and righteousness. His swordsmanship skill was in a class of its own and was rumored to even surpassed his brother's skill.

"Do you like him too?" Osamu teased playfully, snapping his brother out of his reverie.

Blush. "W-what do you m-mean?" Ryoma stuttered, looking away.

"Awww... you look cute when you blush, you know that?"

"Keep your nonsense thoughts to yourself, Osamu." Tezuka said monotonously. 'Stop poisoning your brother's mind.'

"But it is true, isn't it? Your beauty does attract men and women where ever you go," Osamu said, smirking. "Remember that day when we were on our way to the fortress wall? A man bent down and asked your hand for marriage. You have to admit that it was hilarious!" Osamu laughed and continued. "Oh... and remember a maid who 'accidentally' spill tea on your lap-"

"It was no more hilarious than seeing you drunk as you shamelessly dance with a monkey that night." Tezuka interjected.

"Hey, we agreed not to mention that to anybody!"

"Then you should not start it first."

"You are no fun, Mitsu-chan."

"I am not," Tezuka retorted, began leaving the two princes. "And stop calling me that."

"Okay, Ryoma. I guess we would have to continue the practice for next time," Osamu turning to his brother before running to catch up with his friend. "So, what do father want this time?" he asked when he caught up with Tezuka.

"I don't know. I was just instructed to deliver the massage."

Osamu sighed. "I hope he is not trying to find me a wife again. I couldn't bear to see another woman crying in disappointment."

"..."

"How about you?"

"What about me?"

"Do you still dream about her?"

"She does not exist, Osamu. She is just a mere dream."

"Although, you could never forget about her since you dreamt of her every night."

Tezuka sighed and wondered what had possessed him to tell the prince about his dream in the first place anyway.

"You know what? I have a great idea! How about I pass the girl introduced to me over to you?"

"I refuse."

"Oh come on. Maybe your dream is a sign for you to get married."

Tezuka decided to ignore him.

'What did you guys do last night? Was it a rough one?'

"I told you to keep your perverted thought to yourself, did I?" Tezuka retorted.

"Awww... is that how you talk to a crown prince, Mitsu-chan?"

"Then behave like a prince," Tezuka retorted. "And stop calling me that."

**TEZUKA KUNIMITSU WATANABE OSAMU ECHIZEN RYOMA ****TEZUKA KUNIMITSU WATANABE OSAMU TEZUKA KUNIMITSU WATANABE OSAMU ECHIZEN RYOMA**

"You are saying that the Hyotei armies had cross the border and are heading towards us?" Osamu repeated, not really believing what he just heard. His voice echoed throughout the the meeting chamber in the presence of the king and most ranking commanders, strategist generals and other knights.

"They should be here by tomorrow evening, sire," Chitose informed.

"Father, I would like to send for a healer team to those soldiers guarding our border. They probably injured badly defending the border." the crown prince said, in serious tone. "And we also need to bring in our people inside the fortress."

"I had sent people to be in charged of that, but-" Chitose said.

"But I had instructed Chitose not to send any healer team to the border." interjected the king.

Osamu was surprised by his father decision. "What? Why did you do that?"

"Because I am the king and I am responsible for this fortress's safety."

"But-"

"The men at the border probably dead already. I will not tolerate any misuse of resources especially when we are in war at the moment."

Silence. Tezuka noticed Osamu's fist tighten in frustration, hearing the king's decision but there was nothing can be done since the king had made up his mind.

After a while, the crown prince began to relaxed. "Okay, let's focus on the defense then. This is what I propose we should do, he said turning to another young knight beside him. "Ootori, bring me the map."

**CHITOSE SENRI TEZUKA KUNIMITSU WATANABE OSAMU OOTORI CHOUTAROU ****CHITOSE SENRI TEZUKA KUNIMITSU WATANABE OSAMU OOTORI CHOUTAROU **

**Character ****overview** (in order of appearance):

Dark Lord: the most powerful merciless sorcerer in this story who rule Rikkai kingdom which basically cover more than half of the whole Fire land

Sanada Genichirou (Rikkai): the Dark Lord"s loyal and strongest Rikkai knight

Kabaji (Hyotei): the Dark Lord's son who has ability of teleportation under the order of his father but did not possess any other wizardry power. However, he did possess a superb strength!

Dark Lord's daughter: a seer who could see bits and pieces of the future but also did not possess any other wizardry power

Atobe Keigo (Hyotei): King of Hyotei (duh!)

Yanagi Renji (Rikkai): Hyotei's knight (Strategist general)

Momoshiro Takeshi (Seigaku): Hyotei's knight

Watanabe Osamu (Shitenhouji): Crown Prince of Shitenhouji

Echizen Ryoma (Seigaku): Prince of Shitenhouji and Osamu's little brother

Tezuka Kunimitsu (Seigaku): Shitenhouji's commander and Osamu's bestfriend

Chitose Senri (Shitenhouji): Shitenhouji's knight

Ootori Choutaro (Hyotei): Shitenhouji's knight

...

...

...

As you can see, I didn't really dwell much on describing the background because I don't like to do that. Partly because my English is crappy and I tend to forget about the actual plot once I start explaining not to mention trying to cut down the amount of work and imagination needed for that. So, I figured to leave them to your imagination.

Wokie! It's time for bed. Tell me what you think okay? Should I continue this or if there is exactly the same fic as this one, should I stop this. Reviews would be loved. Suggestions would be highly appreciated. Questions will of course be answered. If anyone have too much free time and would like to help me beta-ing this fic, you are totally needed here!

Review!


	2. Strange Kuro

Strange Kuro

"Commander, I don't think we can fend off Hyotei's army anymore. They are too many for us to handle!" Chitose shouted to Tezuka while blocking attacks from his enemies.

"It seems like the castle would be overrun by the enemy. We need to pull back!" Ootori suggested as he thrust his sword into his foe's heart.

Tezuka couldn't comprehend how could Atobe's army be able to get pass Shitenhouji's legendary invincible defense so easily. However, now was not time to dwell such thing. As his fellow knight had said, the castle would fall onto enemy's hand soon which meant that the King's and the Crown prince's lives were in great danger. "We need to get his majesty and the crown prince out of here. Pull back!"

Unfortunately, the king had been long dead by the time Tezuka and the others found him. Prince Osamu was heavily injured despite of he fought Renji while protecting his unconscious younger brother at the same time. Tezuka, Ootori, and Chitose cut their way through to get to the Crown prince.

"Take Ryoma with you and flee," Osamu ordered.

"I will not let anyone escape," Renji said as he attacked.

"You are coming with us. We are not leaving you here," Tezuka told him, as he began to march toward Renji and instructed Ootori and Chitose to guard Ryoma.

"Don't you dare to involve in my fight, Tezuka. As the crown prince, I command you to get out of here with Ryoma."

"But-"

"I am heavily injured and I would only slow you down. You need to be swift if you want to succeed the escape," Osamu reasoned.

Tezuka didn't agree with Osamu but right now, he saw not only the crown prince's determined look but also his bestfriend's sincere request to save his most precious person. "I promise that I will protect your brother with my life," he sworn.

_Thank you.. _With one last look, Osamu concentrated his strength on defeating Renji.

"Let's go!" Tezuka told Ootori and Chitose as he skillfully fend off all attacks and led the way out of the castle. "Ootori, carry his majesty. Chitose and I will make a way for you."

"Stop right there!" Momoshiro shouted when he saw the three knight's trying to escape with the young prince. His and Renji's order was clear: to eliminate or capture all the royal member of Shitenhouji.

"At this rate, we are not going to make it, Tezuka," Ootori said, seeing a dozen of enemy's soldier pursuing after them.

"Why don't you go ahead and leave the enemy to us." Chitose suggested.

"I concur. You have better chance that way," Ootori agreed.

"No! We have better chance if we fight together," Tezuka refused, not wanting to sacrifice more of his close friends's lives.

ZAP!

Suddenly, a white light engulfed the Shitenhouji's prince and knights and when they came to, they found themselves outside the city.

"What happen?" Ootori bewildered and then he heard the prince groaned as he regain consciousness.

"W-where am I?" Ryoma managed to say. He tried to move but his chest became painful the moment he tried.

"It seems like we were magically transported from the castle to the forest outside the capital, your highness," Chitose informed.

"You are injured badly, save your energy, your highness," Ootori advised but then noticed that Ryoma was unconscious again. "Commander, the prince needs help immediately, I think he broke his ribs."

"We need to get as far as possible first," Tezuka said. "We'll take turn carrying the prince."

**TEZUKA KUNIMITSU SENRI CHITOSE OOTORI CHOUTAROU ECHIZEN RYOMA OSAMU WATANABE TEZUKA KUNIMITSU SENRI CHITOSE OOTORI CHOUTAROU ECHIZEN  
**

In Hyotei, Atobe was really furious that Momo had let the younger prince alive.

"My king, I know what I had done was unforgivable but let me explain," Momo pleaded as he was down on his knees.

"And if your words couldn't satisfy me, you should know that I will not hesitate to chop off your head."

"Yes, my king."

"Speak!"

"I had captured Shitenhouji's wizard alive and I believe that they had escaped with his help."

"And why do you say that?"

"Because there was a bright white light befall on the prince and the others before they disappear into thin air."

"Bring him to me!"

"As you wish."

"I think it would be better if you leave the questioning to our wizard," Renji suggested. "If what Momoshiro said was true, then the Shitenhouji's wizard must be a master of deception."

"Do you think that I can be trick that easily, Renji?"

"I think that we should take precautions, that's all."

Atobe found truth in Renji's words and instructed Momoshiro to do what had been suggested.

"There is something else you need to know, your highness," Renji said.

"Proceed."

"I had searched for the Royal Shitenhouji"s Crest just as you ordered but it was nowhere to be found. I believe that the young prince carried it with him."

"Then we need to pursue the prince. As long as he own the crest, he would still be able to re-claim his rightful Shitenhouji's crown."

**ATOBE KEIGO YANAGI RENJI MOMOSHIRO TAKESHI ATOBE KEIGO YANAGI RENJI MOMOSHIRO TAKESHI ATOBE KEIGO YANAGI RENJI MOMOSHIRO TAKESHI ATOBE  
**

"You fool!'

"Forgive me, father. Please, hear me out," begged the girl.

"Silence!" the dark emperor enraged as his eyes glowed red. 'You have allowed one of the prince to die therefore you must be punished severely.'

"Stop!!!' she cried as she convulsed in excruciating pain. 'Please...'

"My lord, I humbly request you to let her go," Sanada bowed. However, the emperor refused, in fact, he seemed to intensify the pain by the way the girl screamed. "I believe that she didn't do anything wrong."

"And what makes you so sure about that?"

"If the prince is destined to find the stone, it would only make sense that he would have fated to survive too," Sanada reasoned. "Thus, I believe that your daughter do not deserve to be punished."

The emperor stopped the torture and the girl fell to the ground unconscious. "he is of no use to me anymore."

"Maybe her vision is not of a greatest seer but I believe that in time, she may prove herself to be an invaluable resource."

"We know that you are merely making excuses for her. You are growing weak, Sanada."

"..."

"Very well. I will give her one last chance to atone for her sin," he said as he watched Sanada picked her up and carried her out. "However, if she failed me again, I wouldn't hesitate to end her life."

Sanada didn't say anything, "My lord, if there is nothing else-"

"Your fondness for her would bring you to your demise, do you realize that?"

"I request to excuse myself, my lord."

**SANADA GENICHIROU SANADA GENICHIROU SANADA GENICHIROU SANADA GENICHIROU SANADA GENICHIROU SANADA GENICHIROU SANADA GENICHIROU**

"So, what did you found out?" Tezuka asked Ootori who just entered their room.

"They are still afraid of us. It looks like they never encountered any outsiders recently," Ootori replied. "I was able to talk to some of them but even then they still wary to tell me anything."

"I still don't get it why they are afraid of us. Although I could understand why they are afraid of Tezuka since he does look intimidating but they should know that the rest of us is harmless," Chitose said and then saw Tezuka cocked his eyebrow, daring him to continue. "Oh, sorry."

"We are carrying weapon, Chitose. They thought we are going to harm them."

"You carried one too," Chitose pointed out. "They seemed to like you though."

"I didn't bring it along with me outside," Ootori defended.

"Did you find anything about the hooded person?" Tezuka interjected.

"They said that his name is Kuro and he is a traveller who came once a year here to heal ill villagers, asking nothing in return."

"Is he some sort of wizard or something? The way he healed his highness, it was some sort of magic."

"I wouldn't rule that possibility out," Tezuka agreed. "However, without him, the prince's condition would have deteriorate greatly."

"You are right, we are lucky to meet him in the forest or else we wouldn't have been able to lose the Hyotei's soldiers."

"The man certainly knew his way around the wood, I give him that. Although I could have sworn he just appeared out of nowhere."

"Despite of his help, we shouldn't let our guard down," Tezuka said. "And from now on, we need to hide our identities."

"Yeah, and we need new clothes as well, our armors are dead give away."

"Ootori, do you think you could ask the villagers to give us normal clothing."

"I'll try."

"Your friend had awoken," said a hooded figure as he joined them with Ryoma followed behind him.

The three knights were relieved to see the prince was well again, however as they had agreed among themselves that they would keep their identity secret. Ootori brought Ryoma closer to them before addressing the prince.

"There is no need for you to hide anything. I know who you are."

"You do?" Ryoma asked in surprise.

"It is hard to ignore the fact that you are wearing a nobility clothing," Kuro answered simply. "And I found the Shitenhouji's crest with you so I assumed that you must be the prince who is hunted by the Hyotei's army."

Tezuka and Chitose instantly drew their swords and pointed to Kuro.

"I don't think so," he said slyly as he showed them the crest which instantly stopped the boys. "However, as a sign of good faith, I would hand it back to you," he said as he handed the crest to the prince.

"How do we know that you didn't give us away?" Tezuka said.

"You don't, you just have to trust me on that," Kuro chuckled. "Although I really don't care because you are free to go anytime."

"Who are you?" Tezuka asked in suspicion.

"Why? Are you afraid of me?"

"It is hard not to be suspicious seeing you wearing that strange clothing. You don't even show your face," Chitose said.

"My face is cursed by dark magic and full of ugly scars and blisters, are you sure you want to see it?"

Not wanting to have nightmare, Ootori refused the offer almost immediately.

Suddenly, a cat entered the room and jumped on Kuro's lap. This caught Ryoma's attention and somehow he felt the urge to hold the cat.

"Let me introduce her. Her name is Karupin."

"Your cat?"

"She is lovely, isn't she?" Kuro said, as he patted Karupin. Then, the cat turned and saw the prince. Ryoma and Karupin stared at each other. Ootori could have sworn he saw sparks between the two as if it was love on first sight.

"I think she likes you, Prince Ryoma." Kuro put Karupin down and let her approached Ryoma. At first, the young boy didn't do anything, although he couldn't resist long as Karupin circled his feet and purred. "Why don't you keep her?"

"Keep her?"

"Yes, I am sure she would like that," Kuro said as he made his way to the door. "Oh yeah, I had asked the villagers to give you clothes so you won't be recognized easily by your enemy."

"Why are you helping us?"

"I am merely helping those whose in need."

"It is hard to believe you especially since you know who we are."

"I am not in anyone's side. I would have helped your enemy too if they are in your situation," he said. "Although I couldn't careless if you decline my help."

"I am sorry, our commander is just being extra careful, Kuro-san," Ootori said. "We are indebt with you this time."

"He should be as the rest of you should be too, Ootori-san," Kuro replied. "Get rest. You are allowed to stay one more night but you would have to leave this place by tomorrow."

**TEZUKA KUNIMITSU SENRI CHITOSE OOTORI CHOUTAROU ECHIZEN RYOMA ****TEZUKA KUNIMITSU SENRI CHITOSE OOTORI CHOUTAROU ECHIZEN RYOMA TEZUKA  
**

Character overview:

Dark Lord: the most powerful merciless sorcerer who rule Rikkai kingdom which basically cover more than half of the whole Fire land

Sanada Genichirou (Rikkai): the Dark Lord"s loyal and strongest Rikkai knight

Kabaji (Hyotei): the Dark Lord's son who has ability of teleportation under the order of his father but did not possess any other wizardry power. However, he did possess a superb strength!

Dark Lord's daughter: a seer who could see bits and pieces of the future but also did not possess any other wizardry power

Atobe Keigo (Hyotei): King of Hyotei (duh!)

Yanagi Renji (Rikkai): Hyotei's knight (Strategist general)

Momoshiro Takeshi (Seigaku): Hyotei's knight

Watanabe Osamu (Shitenhouji): Crown Prince of Shitenhouji

Echizen Ryoma (Seigaku): Prince of Shitenhouji and Osamu's little brother

Tezuka Kunimitsu (Seigaku): Shitenhouji's commander and Osamu's bestfriend

Chitose Senri (Shitenhouji): Shitenhouji's knight

Ootori Choutaro (Hyotei): Shitenhouji's knight

...

...

...

Yeah, it's a fast pace story... I did say that I don't like details... although, now that everything is set up already, the story would slowed down a bit...

Review!


	3. The drunk old man

The Drunk Old Man

"I'm sick of this!" Ryoma declared. Tezuka, Chitose, and Ootori looked up from their chores to Ryoma and then to each other, not knowing how else they could say to calm the prince down. "I'm sick of eating dried bread, sleeping on the ground, and being forced out of my kingdom by the Hyotei army like rats. I want to eat real food! Real bed!"

Ootori tried to cheer him up. But, that only serve to make Ryoma grumpier. "Perhaps we should cook something for tonight meal," Ootori suggested, looking at Chitose for support.

"The last time we did that, it almost cost us our life," Chitose said. "For some reason, the Hyotei army were able to track us down."

Ootori sighed. "You are right. They're really persistent."

"But I do agree that we can't live like this any longer. We need a plan."

"But what?"

"I don't know but what I do know that what we're lacking of is an objective."

"We should head for Seigaku as quickly as possible," Ryoma stood up.

"We don't know whether or not Seigaku had allied itself with Hyotei," Tezuka said. "Besides the Hyotei army had probably reach the boarder already and control it."

"But the border between Shitenhouji and Seigaku is the furthest from both Shitenhouji's castle and Hyotei's border," Ryoma argued. "It can't be already under their control."

"Hyotei got Yanagi Renji, the best strategist among the kingdoms so securing the borders is not impossible," Tezuka explained.

"Tezuka is right. I led our army against Yanagi's once and his strategies are indeed to be feared."

"I heard the rumors about him too. If it wasn't for Tezuka and the late crown prince, we would have lost to Hyotei long time ago," Ootori said.

"We do have Tezuka here with us right now, don't we? Can't we do something against this Yanagi guy?" Ryoma asked.

"No, right now there is nothing we can do against him," Tezuka told the prince.

"So, what now? I don't want to die here!" Ryoma said childishly. None of his knights said anything. "I can't believe this. The three of you are my brother's most trusted knight to protect me but neither of you prove to be useful at times like this."

"Your Majesty, calm down," Ootori said in his caring motherly tone.

"We are all frustrated but arguing will only make the situation worse," Chitose said

"We need to find out the situation at the border," Tezuka finally decided. "Which means we need to find the nearest village or town around here."

"And we can buy supplies too."

"Do we have money though?" Ryoma asked.

"Yes, we do," Ootori answered. "And I know the nearest town around here. Well, it's not exactly near but we should be able to get there in a day."

"A day?" Ryoma complained.

"One day would be ample time to come up with a plan. We should take advantage of it," Chitose said.

"We can't stay there long though, Your Highness," Ootori said and then turned to Tezuka. "But at least we can stay in an inn for one night?"

Even Tezuka couldn't take anymore whining from Ryoma. "We'll see."

TEZUKA KUNIMITSU SENRI CHITOSE OOTORI CHOUTAROU ECHIZEN RYOMA TEZUKA KUNIMITSU SENRI CHITOSE OOTORI CHOUTAROU ECHIZEN RYOMA

There seemed to be no soldier in the town. But, the people in the town were avoiding them anyway. They ran away instead when Ryoma tried to approach their shop or put close sign immediately.

"You think they knew who we are?" Chitose whispered.

"They are just cautious since we are strangers to them," Ootori assured.

"How do you know that?"

"I talked to a couple of them a while ago when I bought some of our food supplies."

"Yeah, and they only friendly with Ootori," Ryoma said in irritation.

"Ootori is a friendly guy to begin with, I guess we are lucky to have him around" Chitose teased.

"Hey, what does that means!"

"It means less chore for us and more for you," Chitose answered playfully before running away.

"Oh no, you don't!" Ootori shouted, running after him.

Ryoma looked astounded seeing his knights acting like kids. "This is the first time I saw them like that."

"Our ranks in the castle require us to maintain our dignity among the knights. With the responsibilities rest upon our shoulders, it sometimes easy to forget that we're just 21 years old."

"You are 21?"

"Yes."

To Ryoma, the fact that Tezuka is only 21 years old seemed to be more ridiculous that the childish act by Chitose and Ootori. "Never mind then."

Suddenly, a group of soldiers went after them. They ran away trying to lose the soldiers. In the end they were lost in the abandoned part of the village and reached the dead end. The soldiers were able to catch up with them and blocked the only path available which effectively preventing for the knights and the prince to escape.

"I thought those people are not supposed to know us," Chitose yelled, making a turn to a corner.

"They didn't," Ootori answered, following Chitose.

"Then why are these people after us then? Someone must have informed them."

"I don't know."

"We have to fight our way through them to get out of here," Ryoma said.

"Your Highness, watch out!" Ootori shouted when he saw an incoming arrow. The arrow was too fast for them to do anything and it was aiming for Ryoma. Fortunately, Tezuka was fast enough to pull the prince to the side.

"Thanks," Ryoma said before he realized that he had lost something important. "My cat!"

"Stay behind me," Tezuka instructed.

Before the knights were able to do something, an archer on one of the roof of the abandon house. "Move one step and I can assure you the next arrow won't miss," he warned, aiming for them. However, this time he wasn't alone. There were probably twenty more of them.

Tezuka let go of his sword and told his friends to do the same.

"But-"

"I promised the crown prince to keep his brother safe. We would be killed right here if we fight."

When the archer was finally on the ground, he was surprised to see Shitenhouji royal crest was among the confiscated items, the archer ordered the said soldiers to bring all of it away to be examined. Then he ordered his men to thoroughly check their prisoners before binding them and threw them into the prison.

TEZUKA KUNIMITSU SENRI CHITOSE OOTORI CHOUTAROU ECHIZEN RYOMA TEZUKA KUNIMITSU SENRI CHITOSE OOTORI CHOUTAROU ECHIZEN RYOMA

In the prison, Tezuka and Ootoriu were detained in one cell and the others were detained in another cell. In between their cells, a sleeping old drunk man was also detained. Other than that the prison was empty. Seeing that no guards were around to guard them, the four Shitenhouji men discussed on how to get out of the place, checking how sturdy their prison were, and the possibility of them escaping the place.

"The bars are stronger than it looks, there's no way to break out of this place," Chitose said.

"And there are no guards around to steal the keys from," Ryoma said in disappointment.

By night fall, the old man woke up and saw his new neighbors. At first he laughed at them and told them how stupid they were to be captured. His comment agitated Ryoma and the prince told the drunk old man to mind his own business. The old man smirked at them and pulled something out his pocket. A pin? Then he did something unexpected and inserted the pin into the padlock of his cell's door. Everyone was so surprised that they were frozen in their place astounded to what had taken place before them, unable to do anything else. The old man waved with a wicked smile at them before heading to the exit.

"What had just happened?" Ootori managed to say.

"The old man just escaped," Ryoma answered. "Quick, find the pin. Maybe we can use it to escape ourself."

"He took it with him," Tezuka told him.

The old man came back hours later with a gourd of wine in his hand as he sang his way into his cell. He intentionally closed the door hard enough that it woke the Shitenhouji men before dozing off. They tried to wake up the old man but he ignored them.

"Bastard," is what Ryoma could say in the end.

"Maybe we should just go back to sleep. We can continue this tomorrow morning," Chitose suggested and having nothing to do, all of them agreed.

TEZUKA KUNIMITSU SENRI CHITOSE OOTORI CHOUTAROU ECHIZEN RYOMA TEZUKA KUNIMITSU SENRI CHITOSE OOTORI CHOUTAROU ECHIZEN RYOMA

The next day, the Shitenhouji men woke up earlier than the old man. They have so many questions for the old man and planned to ask about them once the old man woke up. It was midday when the old man woke up just in time for lunch to be served. Ryoma refused to eat the stale bread despite of his hunger.

"Eat up, brat. Or else you won't last long in here. This is the only meal you'll get to get through the rest of the day around here," said the old man. "Or else give me the bread."

Reluctantly, Ryoma started to chew his bread. Ootori took this opportunity to introduce himself and his friends to the old man before asking his name. The old man looked at Ootori surprised by his politeness and told him his name, Banji. "But how the hell did you end up here?" Ryoma's eyes twitches as he remembered Banji's rude remark last night and told him to mind his own business. Banji snorted. "I'm guessing your mother didn't get to live long enough teach you manner, did she?"

_What the hell!!! _That certainly hit Ryoma's tender spot. _How dare he bring mother into this. This old man deserved a punch on the face. _Ryoma tried to lunge after him but there were bars to stop him. _Damn, how he wish to wipe that smile off his face with his foot. _

Chitose held Ryoma back and tried to calm him down while Banji continued to provoke Ryoma. "Unlike you, brat, I can get out of my cell if I wanted to," he laughed.

Hearing the cynical comment, Ryoma's struggle went more violent but fortunately, Chitose was too strong for Ryoma to break free which of course made Banji laughed harder.

Ootori tried to ask Banji politely to stop teasing Ryoma but the old man refused. It had been a while since he met someone this fun to play with. "Please, Banji-san," Ootori tried again.

Banji cocked his brows and then took out his gourd. "I will stop only if.." he paused, drinking his Ryoma.

"If?"

"You, the man with stony look. Show me your stomach?" Banji pointed to Tezuka who was sitting in the middle of his cell with his back was facing the old man.

Nobody dared to talk, not even to move. But one thing for sure, the rest of them were waiting in anticipation for Tezuka's reaction. Damn, if only they could see his face, it probably would have been priceless.

Ootori, being in the same cell approached Tezuka but froze when his commander look at his direction. Of course Ryoma and Chitose strained their neck to look at his face too. _Damn, I'm too short! _Ryoma thought.

Tezuka stared Ootori with the 'I dare you to say something' look. Ootori sighed. "What about if I show you mine instead?" he offered to the old man.

Banji laughed, amused with Tezuka's attic. "Are you sure that you don't want to do it? Even if I offer to get you out of here?"

"No," Tezuka answered.

With that, Banji hummed an unfamiliar song at the corner of his cell and sip his Ryoma in between his humming. Ootori didn't know what to do. He couldn't possibly be able to convince Tezuka to do it because he knew there was no way Tezuka would do that willingly. There was no way he could force Tezuka either because Tezuka outrank him. He looked over the adjacent cell for help. Chitose and Ryoma looked at each other for ideas. "I guess you are stuck with me forever then," Banji taunted.

"Great, I'm going to eat that stale bread everyday," Ryoma leaned against the wall, arms crossed.

"And sleep on a hard cold floor."

"I can't believe that I'll die as a prisoner."

"A disgraceful way to end my life indeed."

"It's okay, Tezuka. Nobody would blame you," Ootori patted him, unknown to him that the two boys in the other cell were plotting something.

"Yeah, it's a fate that we are _forced_ to accept," Chitose sat. "I guess dignity is more important than a vow to the crown -cough- I mean, Ryoma's brother."

Twitch.

"My brother going to be disappointed," Ryoma said dramatically, finishing final blow.

Suddenly, Tezuka stood up and approached Banji. Banji's mouth kicked up at the corner and his eyes took a mischievous knowing glint. Quickly and swiftly Tezuka tugged the rim of his shirt and lifted it up exposing ladder of muscle across his abdomen. "Satisfied?"

"See! That wasn't that hard?" Banji smirked, obviously proud of himself.

The others had bit their lips to muffle their laugh. There probably nothing Tezuka could do about Ryoma since he was a prince. So, Tezuka glared Chitose and Ootori to remind them of his rank but apparently it wasn't effective anymore. Tezuka sighed. _There goes my pride._

...

...

...

Character overview:

Dark Lord: the most powerful merciless sorcerer who rule Rikkai kingdom which basically cover more than half of the whole Fire land

Sanada Genichirou (Rikkai): the Dark Lord"s loyal and strongest Rikkai knight

Kabaji (Hyotei): the Dark Lord's son who has ability of teleportation under the order of his father but did not possess any other wizardry power. However, he did possess a superb strength!

Dark Lord's daughter: a seer who could see bits and pieces of the future but also did not possess any other wizardry power

Atobe Keigo (Hyotei): King of Hyotei (duh!)

Yanagi Renji (Rikkai): Hyotei's knight (Strategist general).

Momoshiro Takeshi (Seigaku): Hyotei's knight.

Watanabe Osamu (Shitenhouji): Crown Prince of Shitenhouji.

Echizen Ryoma (Seigaku): Prince of Shitenhouji and Osamu's little brother.

Tezuka Kunimitsu (Seigaku): Shitenhouji's commander and Osamu's bestfriend.

Chitose Senri (Shitenhouji): Shitenhouji's knight.

Ootori Chotarou (Hyotei): Shitenhouji's knight.


End file.
